AUTHOR & SCIENTIST

Cristy Burne grew up climbing trees, jumping drains, chasing cows and inventing stories. She has a passion for learning through doing and loves to inspire creativity, daring and resilience in her readers. Cristy is a children's author and science writer with degrees in biotechnology and science communication. She has also worked as a science circus performer, garbage analyst, Santa's pixie, and atom-smashing reporter.

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR  

Kylie Howarth is an award-winning, internationally published author and illustrator of graphic novels and picture books. She was raised in the country alongside her brother, dog, sheep, several orphaned kangaroos and one very cheeky echidna. She is also part fish! Kylie has swum with lionfish in Egypt, piranha and pink dolphins in the Amazon, marine iguanas and hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Islands and whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales at Ningaloo.

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR

Jess McGeachin is a picture book author and illustrator . Drawing inspiration from the natural world, Jess has written and illustrated twelve fiction and non-fiction picture books. His non-fiction picture book Deep won the CBCA Eve Pownall Award in 2023 and his books Kind and The Tree at Number 43 were the winners of the Environment Awards for Children's Literature. Jess is lucky enough to work for a museum where he occasionally gets lost in the basement.